Formula E: the future of motorsports

I recently flew to Hong Kong to watch the fifth round of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship as a guest of Audi Philippines. It was truly a memorable race because the wheel-to-wheel action was intense at the impossibly tight Central Harbour Front Street Circuit, right smack in the middle of Central District in Hong Kong, a very busy business and commercial neighborhood. On one side was Victoria Harbor, and on the other side was the towering behemoths of the famous Hong Kong Skyline. The course was short, technical, and to make matters more interesting, rain-soaked which made racing even more intense as 22 drivers battled with very little overtaking opportunities. It was Formula E’s third visit to Hong Kong in its five-year history, and local organizers are trying to improve the track for future events, particularly widening and lengthening the short 1.86-kilometer street circuit. The 3rd FIA Formula E Hong Kong E-Prix was also the 50th race ever held in the sport’s five year history.

The driver’s line-up included many familiar names like: Sebastian Buemi, Andre Lotterer, Nelson Piquet Jr., Nick Heidfeld, Lucas de Grassi and Felipe Massa. A lot of them are former or current Formula One, Le Mans, WEC-GT drivers. Looking at the teams involved, you can also see more and more manufacturers are coming in full tilt: Audi, BMW, Nissan, Jaguar, Mahindra. Porsche, after famously quitting their Le Mans 919 endurance race car program is also slated to join Formula E in 2020, as they, along with the rest of the Volkswagen-Audi Group prepare to electrify their entire model line-up in a couple of years.

2019 is also significant for Formula E as this marks the first year the Gen 2 cars are out in force. The new powerpacks allow them to run the full 45 minutes plus one lap of the race, whereas previously, drivers had to pit in and swap cars. This helps lower cost and keeps excitement on the track rather than in the pits. Aside from the upgraded power plants, the Gen 2 cars are slightly longer, giving more stability, have more power at 250 kilowatts or roughly 335hp, up by 50 kilowatts from their predecessor, and have a higher top speed at 280km/h, a massive increase of 55km/h over the older Gen 1 cars. All in a package that has a full race weight of 900 kilograms including the driver, equivalent to a base-model subcompact sedan, with more than three times the power output!

It all sounds too good to be true, but skeptics always say the same thing: electric cars, even race cars lack sound, which is a huge component for the overall aural drama. In the case of these high-performance, purpose-built electric vehicles, that isn’t true. The sound you hear is a very powerful turbine-like whine as the Formula E cars whizz by at serious speeds. Since electric motors generate maximum torque at almost 0 RPM (depending on current flow of course), they can accelerate quickly out of tight hairpin corners, with wheel spin and sideways action, an all-too common occurrence during the wet and wild race in Hong Kong’s Central Harbour Front Street Circuit. No wonder these electric rockets can accelerate from rest to 100km/h in 2.8 seconds or less, with only a modest 335hp. For comparison’s sake, 2018’s Formula 1 cars need ~940 horsepower (Mercedes-AMG Team) to accelerate to 100km/h from rest (albeit in a slightly faster 2.4 seconds or less), while carrying even less weight at roughly 750 kilograms with full tank of fuel, driver and ballast. As battery technologies improve, the performance deficit will eventually get narrower.

Back to the race, Lucas di Grassi once again showed nerves of steel, already shining with a strong performance in qualifying. The Audi driver, in the worst of conditions with a lot of aquaplaning, was the only one of the first qualifying group to make it into the Super Pole shootout of the top six. After starting the race from fifth on the grid, di Grassi initially lost two positions. However, thanks to a spirited drive, the Brazilian still moved forward to second. As a result, he improved to third position overall in the drivers’ classification for the 2019 Season. Edoardo Mortara of Venturi Formula E won the race after penalties were handed out.

Lucas’ teammate, Daniel Abt, also showed a strong performance. The German was struggling with the difficult conditions in the third qualifying group. From 12th on the grid, the Audi driver improved by two places on the first lap and subsequently made up one position after another.

In the teams’ classification, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, is now in second position after five of 13 races in Hong Kong.

For the third consecutive time, an Audi e-tron FE05 was the first to cross the finish line in Formula E. Sam Bird from Audi’s customer team Envision Virgin Racing fought a spectacular duel at the front of the field with André Lotterer’s DS Tcheetah. On the penultimate lap, there was contact between them, resulting in Lotterer’s retirement due to a punctured rear tire, and Bird losing his victory due to a retrospective time penalty. Consequently, his teammate, Robin Frijns, moved up to third position.

Indeed, the drama of racing is in Formula E, as well! Whether we like it or not, electric cars, whether road or race cars are in our future. Trust me on this as I tell you it’s going to be just as exciting, if quite different from what we’re used to.